PK and Kindergarten artists recently re-visited lines and shapes, which we focused on at the beginning of the school year. We reviewed our lines and shapes, taking turns coming up to the board to draw different examples. We remembered a lot of what we learned several months ago!
Then we found out that we would be making lines and shapes out of different materials to create a sculpture. We learned that sculptures are artworks that are 3D, not flat like paintings and drawings.
We used model magic on top of a cardboard to form the base of the sculpture. Then students explored how to bend, twist and manipulate the straws, wires and pipe cleaners to create a variety of lines and shapes. They stuck these into the model magic to form their sculptures.
Students were encouraged to turn their sculptures around, to view them from different angles as they worked.
We also walked around and looked at the other sculptures in progress.
Below are some examples of our line and shape sculptures. Some classes had time to come up with titles for their sculptures.
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| David's "Tarantula" |
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| Eva's "Circle World" |
2nd grade
artists have been exploring texture through the creation of texture sandwiches! We brainstormed delicious sandwich ingredients, including bread, cheese, peanut butter, pickles, avocado, marshmallow fluff, bacon, etc. We made a long list on the board to give students ideas.
We began with a long piece of paper and creating a table on which to put the sandwich. Some students included a plate. Then it was time to build the sandwich, beginning with the bread and adding different materials with various textures to represent the ingredients.
Students got very creative with the ingredients, as well as how they used their materials. For example, some students used cotton balls to represent marshmallow fluff, while others turned them into eggs, and another student even wrapped them in red paper to transform them into spaghetti and meatballs!
Here are some examples of our mouth-watering creations! Some of them are on display for the Extravaganza in the connector hallway.
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| Axelle, 2nd grade |
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| Jack, 2nd Grade |
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| Ritu, 2nd Grade |
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| Sara, 2nd Grade |
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| Max, 2nd Grade |
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| Zohaib, 2nd Grade |
3rd grade artists created paper sculptures recently, experimenting with different ways of manipulating paper, a 2D material, to transform it into 3D forms and shapes. They then used this experience to create paper masks, utilizing some of the 3D paper techniques they learned.
First, we discussed masks and when one might wear a mask. Students shared that they had worn masks for Halloween, costume or masquerade parties, and for sports. Then students looked at a variety of masks from different tribes and countries in Africa.
We learned that many African masks are created to be worn in ceremonies and events and many have a spiritual meaning for the tribe. Often symmetrical in design, some of the designs combine animal and human characteristics. They are made of wood, metal or pottery and decorated with materials such as animal hair, straw, horns, feathers and shells.
We then began making our own masks. Beginning with the mask's shape, students folded their paper in half to create a symmetrical shape. They then added details, such as eyes, noses, hair, mouths, etc. Students used some of the techniques they had explored the previous class to bend, fold, twist and curl the paper to make it pop and stand up.
Some students made their masks to be worn, while others kept them more decorative.
Here are some examples of our paper masks! Some of them are currently on display in the connector hallway for the Extravaganza.
Thank you to everyone for helping make our Art & Music Extravaganza week a success! And thank you to all the students and families who attended our Extravaganza Night event. Artwork will still be up for the next few weeks in the connector hallway, in case you missed it.
As part of our Art & Music Extravaganza week, PK, Kindergarten and 1st grade students saw a performance of Peter and the Wolf by the North Winds Ensemble. 2nd graders learned about capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music. They attended a demonstration and participated in interactive workshops with Sinha Capoeira, which tied into their study of Brazil.
3rd graders learned about traditional Armenian dance with Abaka Dance Group from Watertown and 4th graders participated in theatre and improv workshops led by Kidstock Theatre. 5th graders have been practicing a hip hop dance routine, choreographed and taught by Jen Venezia, for the past 2 weeks. They performed it last night to great applause.
Here is the video slideshow that was shown last night, to show students and families what we have been learning and making here in art. It is not just about the work that goes on display, but about the experience and process that we engage in!
PK and Kindergarten artists are welcoming spring with painted paper collages of spring things! Students have been exploring texture this past month and a half, and so we began by making painted paper using different materials like sponges, toilet paper tubes, forks and knives, etc.
After making our painted paper, we looked at Eric Carle's book The Tiny Seed. We noticed the illustrations were very colorful and contained many different shapes. Students were also very familiar with his other books, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We learned about his collage making process, where he would also start with painted paper and cut them into shapes to make his pictures.
To begin our own springtime painted paper collages, students brainstormed signs of spring, such as flowers, bugs, birds, and the sun. Each student chose a spring subject for their collage that is in the sky or on the ground. Then we selected painted paper in colors that were needed to begin cutting out the different shapes and think about how the parts would make up the whole.
Students glued their pieces down onto paper, considering how to assemble their various parts as well as overlapping.
Here are some of the spring inspired collages, after having dried:
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| Eloise, PK |
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| Logan, PK |
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| Mera, Kindergarten |
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| Luanna, Kindergarten |
Next class, students cut out their collages and glued them to a larger background mural, choosing a place on the ground or sky.
The finished collage murals will be on display for the Kinder-"garden" moving up ceremony in June! Keep your eye out for that soon!
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| Mrs. Tan's class mural |
4th grade
artists have been exploring value through various pencil drawings. After their personal still life drawings, students have been exploring value using color through outer space drawings with oil pastel.
We discussed how to create three-dimensional shapes and forms using lighter and darker values of color, turning a circle into a spherical planet. After brainstorming a list of things you might see in outer space, including the Earth, sun, planets, stars, black holes, comets and asteroids, students began with a sketch.
After sketching out their composition quickly, students drew their outer space scenes on larger paper and used oil pastel to add color and depth.
The following class, students created a resist by painting over their paper with black watercolor paint, which revealed their oil pastel stars and outer space scene since oil pastel resists the water based paint.
Here are some examples of our out of this world outer space resist paintings!
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| Ava, 4th Grade |
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| Vicky, 4th Grade |
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| Derin, 4th Grade |
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| Kailee, 4th Grade |
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| Anthony, 4th Grade |
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| Kira, 4th Grade |
2nd grade
artists have been studying the geography and culture of India in their classrooms, learning about the Taj Mahal and the Hindu spring festival of Holi. To connect to their study of India in art, we looked at the mandala. The mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, which both originated in India, representing the Universe.
Traditionally, the mandala is a geometric pattern in a circular shape that has strong symmetry. The word "mandala" is from the Indian language of Sanskrit and means “circle.” They can also represent wholeness and our connection to physical circles like the
earth, sun and moon, and life circles of friends, family and community.
We learned that mandalas can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional and can be made from different materials, such as paper, metal, cloth and sand. While they originated in India, they are also produced in other countries such as Tibet, Nepal, China, Japan and Indonesia. They were produced as early as the 4th century, and are still created today.
We looked at images of different mandalas and also of people creating mandalas on the ground, using what appeared similar to sidewalk chalk. Students noticed that the mandalas were created from the center outward, and were symmetrical in their design. Because they were being created with chalk, which can wash or blow away, we talked about why someone might take the time to create such a complex and significant symbol, when it was not permanent. Some students thought it might be for practice, while others thought it might just be for fun or for the shared experience.
After learning about the mandala, students watched a time elapse video that showed Buddhist monks meticulously creating a sand mandala over a period of a week. Afterwards, there was a ceremony and they destroyed the mandala, which surprised many students! Again, this led to a discussion of why one might do this and we talked about how it might be about the experience or journey, rather than the end result.
In keeping with this idea, students worked in groups at their table (we discussed how the monks working together made their mandala making go quicker) to create a mandala using colorful foam shapes.
Students shared ideas and also compromised to be able to form a group mandala, keeping symmetry and the circular form in mind. At the end of class,
student had a chance to see each other's mandalas before (calmly)
destroying them and putting all the shapes back into the plastic bag.These are some of the mandalas that student groups made:
The following week, students began designing and drawing their own individual mandalas, to keep this time. We brainstormed different themes, such as spring, nature, sports teams and personal interests, and ways to connect the shapes and patterns to a theme.
After drawing their symmetrical mandalas, using rulers to help find the center point, students outlined them in Sharpie marker and colored them in. Once they were finished, students cut out the circle and glued it onto a background, considering what kinds of colors would complement their mandala design. Here are some examples:
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| Dorie, 2nd Grade |
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| Adrian, 2nd Grade |
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| Anna, 2nd Grade |
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| Emilio, 2nd Grade |
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| Ani, 2nd Grade |
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| Domenic, 2nd Grade |
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We began with a long piece of paper and creating a table on which to put the sandwich. Some students included a plate. Then it was time to build the sandwich, beginning with the bread and adding different materials with various textures to represent the ingredients. 
Students got very creative with the ingredients, as well as how they used their materials. For example, some students used cotton balls to represent marshmallow fluff, while others turned them into eggs, and another student even wrapped them in red paper to transform them into spaghetti and meatballs!
Here are some examples of our mouth-watering creations! Some of them are on display for the Extravaganza in the connector hallway.
We learned that many African masks are created to be worn in ceremonies and events and many have a spiritual meaning for the tribe. Often symmetrical in design, some of the designs combine animal and human characteristics. They are made of wood, metal or pottery and decorated with materials such as animal hair, straw, horns, feathers and shells. 
Some students made their masks to be worn, while others kept them more decorative. 
Here are some examples of our paper masks! Some of them are currently on display in the connector hallway for the Extravaganza. 
As part of our Art & Music Extravaganza week, PK, Kindergarten and 1st grade students saw a performance of Peter and the Wolf by the North Winds Ensemble. 2nd graders learned about capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music. They attended a demonstration and participated in interactive workshops with Sinha Capoeira, which tied into their study of Brazil. 
3rd graders learned about traditional Armenian dance with Abaka Dance Group from Watertown and 4th graders participated in theatre and improv workshops led by Kidstock Theatre. 5th graders have been practicing a hip hop dance routine, choreographed and taught by Jen Venezia, for the past 2 weeks. They performed it last night to great applause.
Here is the video slideshow that was shown last night, to show students and families what we have been learning and making here in art. It is not just about the work that goes on display, but about the experience and process that we engage in!
After making our painted paper, we looked at Eric Carle's book The Tiny Seed. We noticed the illustrations were very colorful and contained many different shapes. Students were also very familiar with his other books, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We learned about his collage making process, where he would also start with painted paper and cut them into shapes to make his pictures.
To begin our own springtime painted paper collages, students brainstormed signs of spring, such as flowers, bugs, birds, and the sun. Each student chose a spring subject for their collage that is in the sky or on the ground. Then we selected painted paper in colors that were needed to begin cutting out the different shapes and think about how the parts would make up the whole.
Students glued their pieces down onto paper, considering how to assemble their various parts as well as overlapping. 
Here are some of the spring inspired collages, after having dried:
The finished collage murals will be on display for the Kinder-"garden" moving up ceremony in June! Keep your eye out for that soon! 
.JPG)
After sketching out their composition quickly, students drew their outer space scenes on larger paper and used oil pastel to add color and depth.
The following class, students created a resist by painting over their paper with black watercolor paint, which revealed their oil pastel stars and outer space scene since oil pastel resists the water based paint. 
Here are some examples of our out of this world outer space resist paintings!
Traditionally, the mandala is a geometric pattern in a circular shape that has strong symmetry. The word "mandala" is from the Indian language of Sanskrit and means “circle.” They can also represent wholeness and our connection to physical circles like the
earth, sun and moon, and life circles of friends, family and community.
We learned that mandalas can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional and can be made from different materials, such as paper, metal, cloth and sand. While they originated in India, they are also produced in other countries such as Tibet, Nepal, China, Japan and Indonesia. They were produced as early as the 4th century, and are still created today.
We looked at images of different mandalas and also of people creating mandalas on the ground, using what appeared similar to sidewalk chalk. Students noticed that the mandalas were created from the center outward, and were symmetrical in their design. Because they were being created with chalk, which can wash or blow away, we talked about why someone might take the time to create such a complex and significant symbol, when it was not permanent. Some students thought it might be for practice, while others thought it might just be for fun or for the shared experience. 
After learning about the mandala, students watched a time elapse video that showed Buddhist monks meticulously creating a sand mandala over a period of a week. Afterwards, there was a ceremony and they destroyed the mandala, which surprised many students! Again, this led to a discussion of why one might do this and we talked about how it might be about the experience or journey, rather than the end result.
Students shared ideas and also compromised to be able to form a group mandala, keeping symmetry and the circular form in mind. At the end of class,
student had a chance to see each other's mandalas before (calmly)
destroying them and putting all the shapes back into the plastic bag.These are some of the mandalas that student groups made: 
The following week, students began designing and drawing their own individual mandalas, to keep this time. We brainstormed different themes, such as spring, nature, sports teams and personal interests, and ways to connect the shapes and patterns to a theme. .JPG)
After drawing their symmetrical mandalas, using rulers to help find the center point, students outlined them in Sharpie marker and colored them in. Once they were finished, students cut out the circle and glued it onto a background, considering what kinds of colors would complement their mandala design. Here are some examples:
